


father figure

by kakashienthusiast



Category: Naruto
Genre: kakashi is lowkey rock lee's second dad and he's the only one that doesnt realize it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 03:44:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15258687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakashienthusiast/pseuds/kakashienthusiast
Summary: Some time in the middle of the Edo Tensei arc, Lee is worried about Sai and goes to his dad I mean captain for some encouragement. Request from tumblr that I ended up really liking.





	father figure

It had only been two days since their squad had left Konoha, but after a steady stream of clashes with their reanimated enemies, it had started to feel more like a couple of years. A decade of ANBU didn’t make long missions like this any less exhausting, but it did lend an odd sense of nostalgia to the experience for Kakashi. If you even could feel nostalgic about killing people, at least. Gai had not been on quite so many missions this intense and had fallen asleep the moment he hit the ground, snoring softly next to him. At least one of us can get some rest, Kakashi thought to himself.  
A Hidden Stone chunin was technically on watch, but even if it had been Tsunade herself keeping watch, Kakashi would never be able to relax enough to sleep during a mission. In lieu of actual rest, he stared blankly at the open page of his book until the characters lost their meaning. A few feet behind him, a twig snapped under someone’s foot and Kakashi jolted out of his daze, kunai in hand. Still frozen in place on the offending twig, Lee sheepishly waved.  
“Ah! Sorry, Kakashi-sensei! I uh..” Lee trailed off, nervously eyeing the kunai in Kakashi’s hand.  
“Can’t sleep, huh?” Kakashi relaxed a bit and tucked the kunai away. “Me neither. Anything on your mind?” Lee walked over gingerly, diligently avoiding any errant twigs. He plopped down near Kakashi with a quiet huff. Lee’s teacher was notoriously bad at concealing his emotions and had naturally passed that weakness on to his student.  
“I’m still worried about Sai,” he looked away to hide his concerned expression. “I know he finally got the hang of his sealing jutsu, but it seemed like such a risky technique! I could never forgive myself if something happened to him while he was under my protection!” In general, giving advice was a pretty hit or miss affair for Kakashi, but this was something he could handle.  
“Lee, you are a talented shinobi,” Lee’s eyes gleamed as he said that, but Kakashi continued. “And so is Sai. His mission is to use that sealing jutsu when we need it. Your mission is to prevent anyone from interfering with him. You should have faith in your teammate that you’re both strong enough to carry out your missions successfully. After all, I wouldn’t have assigned either of you to those roles if I didn’t think you could do it. I fully believe you have this under control.” It was a surprisingly warm sentiment for a captain to give to a subordinate, but Lee was a special case. Lee had never been his student outright, but he might as well have been considering how close he was to Naruto and Sakura and especially to Gai. In the dim firelight, Kakashi could see tears start to well up in Lee’s eyes as he processed the praise.  
“If you have that much faith in me, I definitely won’t let you down Dad!” Lee’s hands lept to his mouth the second the word left his mouth. Kakashi was silent and Lee backpedaled anxiously. “I’m so sorry Kakashi-taicho! That was entirely disrespectful of me you’re my commanding officer and I should never have said something so informal I swear it won’t happen aga-!” Lee fell silent again as Kakashi rested a hand on his shoulder in his best approximation of a fatherly gesture.  
“Don’t worry about it, Lee.” He smiled genuinely, doing his best to brush aside the raw anxiety of being seen as anything approaching a father figure for Lee’s sake. Grateful for both the mask and the dim light, Kakashi took a single deep breath before continuing with words he had never imagined himself saying. “I really am proud of you.” The tears in Lee’s eyes overflowed as he flung himself suddenly towards Kakashi with enough force to wake Gai from his sleep.  
“Ambushing Konoha’s Blue Beast will be your last mistake!” Gai shouted, leaping to his feet. He blinked and took in the scene in front of him, then relaxed as he realized that there was no threat. A couple other shinobi stirred and grumbled unhappily at the disruption, but Gai’s attention was firmly fixed on the people he cared about most.  
Kakashi was still sitting against a tree, trapped by Lee’s ungraceful embrace. Lee was too busy crying on his shoulder to notice the hapless shrug Kakashi gave to Gai, but it was obvious that this was a happy moment for both of them. Gai laughed heartily at them, oblivious to the annoyance of those resting near by, and sat down at Kakashi’s side, waiting for Lee to recover enough to speak again. Gai was obviously still teetering on the brink of sleep, but he’d be the first to remind anyone that it’s important to make time for your family.


End file.
